29 Your Blended Lessons: Step-by-Step

During both weeks 2 and 3, you will facilitate a blended learning lesson.  Monday-Thursday you will facilitate an asynchronous component (to take participants approximately 20 minutes to complete), and on the Friday, you’ll facilitate an in-person component, approximately 10 minutes long.  Your lesson may be on the topic of your choice (Follow this link for examples of past lessons.). Your lessons will be completed by at least your FLO facilitator(s) and at least two of your fellow participants (and at least two of your colleagues will provide you with written feedback on your lesson facilitation.)  Review the Planning your First Blended Session module for guidance on how to prepare.

Here are some suggested steps to prepare for this assignment:

1. Attend and reflect on the first week’s blended lesson from your FLO facilitators. What activities did you find most effective/interesting/fun?
2. Think back on other blended sessions you’ve attended in the past. Were there any activities that you’d especially like to try yourself?
3. Reflect on your own “online persona” & the ways you like to project your “teacher” personality in an asynchronous space.
4. Reserve your session time in one of the Friday in-person session blocks using the Groups tool.  (Also book yourself in as a participant in at least 2 of your colleagues’ sessions – not using the Groups tool, just jot down which sessions you will attend.)
5. Have a quick look at the Facilitation Feedback FLO Blended to familiarize yourself with how session feedback may be structured. (NOTE: not all of these criteria will be applicable to your presentation in this course format!)
6. Read the provided resources in Week 1 and participate in the discussions; make a note of any ideas especially relevant to your situation.
7. Plan a 30 minute activity (20 minutes asynchronous online + 10 minutes in-person) on the topic of your choice.
8. Develop any PowerPoint/Google slides or other resources you might want to incorporate in your session (suggestion: keep these MINIMAL)
9. Send instructions and materials for the asynchronous component of your lesson, as well as a brief ‘News’ item that describes your lesson,  to your FLO facilitators by Monday morning so that it can be posted in time for the Tuesday start date of your blended session.  The earlier, the better considering there will be several lessons for your facilitators to load.  We suggest a maximum of one discussion topic and one page to be placed in the Content area if needed.  We will discuss these logistics further at the first in-person session in Week 1.  Also, if there is specific feedback about your lesson that you would like to receive from your colleagues, you could include a brief note with the ‘News’ item.
10. Please seek out any needed information or help for any additional technical skills before your session time.

Your FLO facilitators are available to assist at any step along the way: reviewing your plan, providing suggestions, uploading your presentation slides, monitoring the chat, etc.  You can also post questions, etc. in the Open Discussion Forum.